Security at prisons

Despite averting a jailbreak, security at the Hyderabad jail still remains vulnerable

It was but for the timely tip-off by our intelligence gatherers that a methodically devised jailbreak plan was averted in Hyderabad, as was revealed by the Inter-Services Public Relations chief Lt General Asim Bajwa a fortnight earlier. The disturbing reality, however, is that security at the prison remains vulnerable as highlighted by a recent report in this newspaper. Its exterior walls still have to be raised and made bombproof, a project that was approved by the Sindh government in April last year, but the budget allocation for which was only started this week. Non-functional CCTV cameras as well as the densely populated area where the prison is located make things even more complicated.

The dangerous reality is that poor security at prisons is a countrywide phenomenon and not just limited to Hyderabad Central Jail. The jailbreak plot at the prison underscores the urgency to buttress the security of prisons across the country. Prisons in most major cities have within their confines high-profile inmates who render these penitentiaries vulnerable to attacks. Memories have not faded of the audacious 2012 Bannu jailbreak in which some 400 prisoners had escaped, and the 2013 assault on Dera Ismail Khan prison in which 248 inmates were freed. Both episodes had amply highlighted how woefully fragile our prison security was. As happens after such incidents, solemn vows were made to tighten security at prisons but not much in the way of action has been witnessed. To guard against outside attack is only one facet of the challenge, however. Dangerous and violent felons have been known to make devious plans of prison escape. To preclude such a possibility, we need not only trained, honest and alert jail personnel, but also a proper, well-funded prison security system. Over-population in Pakistani prisons is another serious problem, which is in need of addressing, either through the building of more prisons or through an efficient parole system that can ease the pressure on prisons. It is obvious that changes need to be made to our prison security systems or we might not be as lucky as we were in the case of Hyderabad.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 3^rd, 2016.

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